


if there’s a door to heaven, baby, you’re the key

by Ephemeral_Joy



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:21:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28964556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ephemeral_Joy/pseuds/Ephemeral_Joy
Summary: It's quite hard to not think of the love of your life when they're onstage next to you, or waiting in the studio for you to come home. It's quite hard to not shout your love from the rooftops, so Luke and Julie settle for the next best thing: hugging, of course!
Relationships: Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 35
Kudos: 192





	if there’s a door to heaven, baby, you’re the key

**Author's Note:**

> combined two one-shots i posted on tumblr since they're kind of linear. most definitely been pushed by @blushandbooks to post it here too haha
> 
> edited | not beta'd | title: 305 // shawn mendes (that entire album is just "Luke Infatuated With Julie" and I can't stop using the songs) | tumblr: @lydias--stiles

After practising the guitar until his fingers bled, dying, listening to Alex cry in a room for twenty-five years and getting revived into a “hologram” band by a high school girl, Luke hadn’t expected the hardest thing of all to be his inability to _not_ look at her. Because it was. Extremely hard.

Julie Molina shared the mic with him in that smelly gym and that had been enough to tip him over the edge. If death hadn’t done it, then Julie Molina would’ve taken his breath away and she didn’t even have to _try._ That was new for Luke. Him and everyone he knew always had to push and work hard and relentlessly beat the wall until it crashed. With Julie, he only felt ease. She just made it so easy to love her, that neither of them had to pretend that wasn’t the case. And if that wasn’t enough (you know, having a killer personality), she _had_ to be gorgeous too. Like, “I would’ve stolen a magazine so I could put your poster on my wall”-gorgeous. Like, “Huh, I could really kiss you right now!”-gorgeous.

Literally: _right now._

Cramped together on a stage at Raven’s Nest - some smoky dive bar only LA locals knew of - all he had eyes for, was her. She was closer than usual and her smile held something different that night. As if she knew something, saw something, others didn’t. It was unnerving and attractive and all he wanted to do was get closer. Tilt her chin and peer inside the brown to see what secret was kept in there. 

He’s been doing that a lot. Ever since she turned sixteen and he became bitterly aware of his own eternal youth, he took every chance he got to be near. Which made these performances equally amazing as insufferable. He got to see her shine, but he couldn’t interact with her. Not really. Not the way he wanted to. 

The bridge came and, with that natural tug between them, urged Julie to hold her mic out for him. She kept it closer to her face than usual though, his surprise quickly covered up with his designated lyrics. Her dazzling smile was trained on him, those eyes making him sink in his knees and almost brush his lips against the mic. The action propelled her to get right in his face and he knew she was no longer playing it up for the audience. This was just for them. To see each other so exhilaratingly happy and in the moment - have her see the green and him the brown. 

But then the song burst into the final chorus and ripped the pair away, back to their mic stands. Luke gave it his all, smiling and singing and letting the riff in the end echo for a beat longer. The crowd (real fucking Californians) roared alive as Julie’s final note drifted off, whistling and applauding for this girl and her insane technology. The boys poofed out. 

“Thank you,” Julie grinned. “We’re Julie and The Phantoms. Tell your friends!”

The girl ran off stage to where the boys stood celebrating. With a quiet laugh, she ushered them out the backdoor into the alleyway. One by one, she hugged the boys and exchanged compliments - ending with Luke. Her grin became a little brighter and he had no doubt his was the same. _Finally._

Jumping into his arms like she was born to do so (like he was born to catch her), he heard her giggle in his ear. “Another amazing gig for the books!”

Luke set her down, that ridiculously dopey smile of his on full display and not giving two shits about it. His hands caressed her jaw, nose scrunched. "Julie, you were _incredible!"_

“Thank you,” she smiled. “So were you. That added riff in the end? Genius.”

That feeling again: his heart stuttering and stammering at her simplest of compliments. “Yeah?”

Julie hummed, eyes shimmering and grabbing onto his shirt. It reminded him of what he saw onstage: that mischievous glint of something unknown. Luke snuck a glance at the boys, his friends wisely giving them some space and goofing off a bit further down the alley. 

“What were you thinking about?”, he whispered, taking a step closer. His shadow shrouded her body now, though the red neon lights behind them reflected in her hair like the burning embers of fire. Julie was, once again, fucking ethereal. His mind chanted to _kiss her, kiss her, kiss her._ Instead, he let his thumb circle against her cheek. It seemed to sooth them both. 

She matched his lulled voice. “What?”

Luke teasingly bit down on his lip. “You had this look in your eye-”

“A _look?”_

“C’mon, Jules,” he laughed. “You know I’m right!”

The pause between them was tangible, Julie debating telling him the secret and him vehemently trying to not kiss her. Slowly, her arms slipped from the front of his shirt to behind his back, locking them together. Luke was pretty sure this muddy alleyway was heaven on earth. 

“I was thinking…” she mused. “About Alex’ amazing drum solo. And Reggie’s bassline on the third song.” Though both were correct, he knew she was mocking him. “Wow!”

Luke couldn’t let her deflect though - not when she allowed him to swipe his fingers against her skin and curl his hands in her hair. Not when she was the one holding them close. His eyes squinted. “You wanna know what I was thinking of?”

A brow quirked. “Do I?”

“Julie.”

She laughed. “Okay. Tell me.”

It was her expectant smile that did it for him. The way she tilted her head and raised her eyes and how the edge of her lip tugged, curious. That breathlessness that overwhelmed him in the best way possible. That feeling of knowing they were right where they were supposed to be. It was a bit unconventional, but hey - it worked. He loved her. The afterlife was truly that simple. 

“I already said it,” he murmured. Her puzzled expression cleared up. “I said your name.”

Awed, Julie whispered: “Oh.”

_Kiss her, kiss her, kiss her, kiss her, kiss her-_

He swallowed back the nerves, frowning. “Jules, can I-”

Her phone rang. It was her dad, calling her to come home as curfew was nearing and she had school tomorrow. The moment was broken, which sucked, but Luke reckoned the memory wasn’t too bad either. Wasn’t he the luckiest ghost ever if he was able to dream about the beautiful Julie Molina gazing up at him? To have her look back when he thought he was the only one? 

Yeah, there were worse things to dream about.

***

For purely survivalist reasons, Julie wouldn’t tell Flynn she was missing Luke. 

Logically, intellectually, the girl knew she was acting ridiculous. She knew she was being dramatic when she literally hugged him goodbye a mere thirty minutes ago and would see him again in six hours. Six hours was nothing. Six hours were three movies. One opera! She should be fine without Luke. And _yet._ Her brain was such a traitor sometimes. Just as she thought she whacked down her Luke-thoughts, another ten popped up. The game never ended and Julie, secretly, didn’t even care.

But if Flynn knew? Oof. Julie would never hear the end of it. The passionate tirade would flow from “Empowered women needing no man!” to a tired sigh, as in: “Remember? He’s like, dead?” In the end, she’d tell Julie to focus on herself and see school as a breather from the boys. She’s heard the speech many times before. 

So she didn’t tell Flynn she was missing him. For _everyone’s_ sake.

But she did. Terribly so. He didn’t even have to try for her to miss him. She’d see a couple holding hands in the hallway and wonder what it’d be like if it was _them._ Luke would walk up to her locker with that stupidly adorable bounce in his step and play with her fingers as they talked and then after, he’d pull her under his arm when walking to class. It was cliché and so, _so_ indulgent, but it got her through the duller parts of classes. Luke has consumed her daydreams for months now. How his smile would look in the natural lighting of English, how excited he’d be for her to sing in music class, mouthing “you got this!” from his seat, how they’d sneak kisses under the bleachers or lay with her on the quad in the summer or warm her hands in the winter. She dreamed and wanted it all. 

She wanted him _here._

It just felt wrong not being able to see him around. It worried her in the beginning, wondering if she has become co-dependent, but then realised that he has quickly, quietly, become her best friend. She loved Flynn, but whatever Julie shared with Luke was so inexplicably enthralling that no song - not even Perfect Harmony - has accurately captured it yet. 

She was in love with him. It really was that simple. If only she could tell him that without fearing he’d disappear right in front of her nose.

By last period, Julie was antsy and pouting. All she wanted to do was hear his voice and have his fingers swipe her cheeks and pull him on the couch with her. She probably looked like a brat, but the tug in her chest was stronger than her need to politely smile. When the bell rang, she sprinted out the room before anyone else stood up. 

(Later that day, she’d get a text from Flynn. _you were missing ghost boi??_ Right. Julie forgot sometimes Flynn knew her better than herself. When Julie replied with a yes, Flynn flat-out said she was a simp. Damn. She couldn’t even deny it.) 

Sliding the doors of the studio open, her downtrodden mood vanished like smoke at the sight of a strumming Luke with his head in the clouds. His green eyes were fixed on the ceiling, pick between his lips as the aimless chords drifted across the space. He was alone. 

Intellectually, she knew it was silly to feel like crying. But fuck her brain. Let her think with her heart for a moment. As if sensing her emotions, his gaze dropped from the chairs to her meandering figure, a smile blooming on his lips. He excitedly sprung up. 

“Julie! How was - oof!”

The girl hadn’t been able to hold back anymore, crashing into his arms and nearly teetering them to the floor if it wasn’t for his steady grip around her. Julie smiled, giddy, burrowing her face in his soft sweater. _Finally._

Luke chuckled, rocking on his heels as if they were slow dancing on the spot (as if he knew exactly what she wanted in the moment) and tightening his arms. Hours of missing and yearning and daydreaming coming to a halt and freezing everything in place. When Luke held her, time stopped. 

Heaven on earth was quite literally the warmth of his embrace. 

His lips brushed against her ear. “What’d I do to deserve a Julie Molina Hug?”

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Him existing was enough. She loved him, she loved him, she loved him. She laughed at his question, choked. 

Luke noticed the catch in her breath, Julie looking up and seeing his furrowed brows. “Everything okay?” 

That feeling again! His earnest eyes locked on hers, face softened in a way only meant for her to cherish, his signature smile waiting to brighten his features. That feeling! A swarm of infinite butterflies fluttering in her chest until she was nothing but the love she felt for him. 

In moments like these, he wasn’t a ghost. He wasn’t dead nor was she afraid he’d disappear. He was here and warm and solid and _alive._

“Yeah, I just-” _I missed you._ “-I’m… I’m glad to be home,” she breathed. He nodded, still unsure. And then she said it anyway. “I missed you.”

The confession made his lips part, awed. A smile trembled on her own. If she wasn’t so certain of her feelings, she’d be fleeing to her bedroom from embarrassment. But there was nothing to hide when it came to Luke. It was the truth. _She loved him, she loved him, she loved him._

“Oh,” he whispered. 

Before he could say anything else, she rushed to add: “Can we stay here for a while? Uh…” What word to use that wasn’t so monumental? “Hugging?”

The smile that she expected to brighten his face was so much more than that. It broke all the lines in his skin, tenderness brimming in his gaze, yet timid all the same. His nod was small. She almost said she loved him. (She felt like she didn’t need to. He understood.) 

“Yeah,” Luke said. “Let’s stay here for a while.”

* * *

When she and Luke got together, she expected things to change a little. Everything they had kept brimming beneath the surface was now allowed to be out in the open. Blatant affection, compliments thrown around, sneaking kisses, opening up about things that they couldn’t before for the sake of keeping some of their heart locked and safe. Now that they’ve _given_ each other their hearts, secrecy wasn’t needed anymore.

Perhaps the best thing ever, Julie thought, was the way he preferred loving her. If someone asked her what she liked in a guy before Luke, she wouldn’t say to be dragged around like a doll into hugs and kisses. That she was above simple affection like that. But damn - she really wasn’t. Julie loved how Luke expressed himself. With music onstage, with his nose nuzzled in her neck offstage.

Luke loved attention, especially, _specifically,_ from her, and she was all too willing to give him that. The beam on his face when he hugged her, the way he’d grin mid-kiss as if he was too giddy to keep going, how his fingers inevitably began to caress and scratch against her back whenever he stood next to her. (Now _that_ was a point of contention before. He’d poof into school as she was talking to someone and start touching her like that and then _she_ had to do everything in her power to not start leaning against air. Luke thought it was funny, Julie didn’t want to be seen as more of a freak than she already was because of her “hologram” band, and so he stopped doing it in public.)

What she _hadn’t_ expected, however, was the way he’d want her to be around when mopey. Luke didn’t get upset a lot. But sometimes, when the memory resurged of Bobby stealing his songs or he had an argument with the boys or he simply had a shitty day, his face would twist into a grumpy expression and he’d refuse to talk. In the beginning, she didn’t know what to do. Did he want her close? Did he want to be alone? Did he want her to ignore it and just play music? 

The third time it happened and he _still_ didn’t talk, she decided to take action. He was on the couch, scowling at the floating chairs with his arms crossed and his pouty lips pursed in a sneer. Alex and Reggie were off on their own adventures, probably because they didn’t know how to console him either, leaving Julie to figure it out once and for all. 

She settled on the couch next to him, knees pressed to her chest, and murmured: “What’s wrong, Luke?”

His fixed stare trailed to her, marginally softening but not disappearing either. “Nothing,” he mumbled with a shrug. “Just a shit day, I guess. I don’t know. Don’t worry about it.”

Yes, because that was what a committed girlfriend did: _not_ worry about her boyfriend’s wellbeing. She almost started laughing if she wasn’t actively trying to make it better.

“I do worry,” she frowned. “Do you want to talk about it, or?”

He shook his head, brown hair peeking from his orange beanie brushing against his eyes. They tracked the way she was seated for a beat, hesitating, and then fell back on the ceiling. Julie’s frown deepened. What could she do? What could she do that wouldn’t necessarily make the day better, but alleviate his mood a little, maybe even distract him from his own thoughts? Her scrutinising stare dropped to his crossed arms and noted the way his fingers were twitching, one thumb methodically rolling the ring around his other finger. He was grumpy _and_ antsy. Gah! What was the solution?!

If Luke was allowed to go into “ambush mode” whenever they tried to get a gig at particularly difficult venues, then she had to be a little radical when it came to her boyfriend. Abruptly, Julie crawled into his lap. Luke froze, eyeing her with slight wonder and instinctively untangling his arms to wrap around her instead.

Content for the warmth but still on a mission, she placed her head on his chest and said: “You wanna talk about it _now?”_

He sighed, the sound weighed down by his chagrin though tinged with a sliver of relief, like he was holding his breath under water and finally came up for air. “No. But this- this is... nice.” He paused to kiss her forehead, lips soft on her skin. “Thank you.”

Finally, Julie realised what he’s been needing. _Her._ Just her. Just like he always showered her with hugs and kisses, in moments like these, he needed her double as much. She’d gladly give him triple. Crawling deeper into his embrace, her hand rubbed against his chest as if she’d soften his sternum and placing a soft kiss on his neck. He exhaled, sagging into the couch. His shoulders dropped whatever tension it still held, Julie’s confidence growing with each sign of distress wearing off. 

Though his brows were still furrowed, she asked him anyway. “Why didn’t you just tell me you need me?”

He sighed again. “Like I said, I don’t want you to worry about me.”

“But I want to.” She gazed up at him, tender. How could he not see how she equalled his devotion? That she adored him just as much? “I love you. You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong, but if I knew _this_ made it better…”

A smile tugged on his lips, barely. “Okay,” he muttered. “Then yeah, this helps. A lot.”

Her own smile widened, reaching up to chastely kiss his lips and then snuggled back into him. If she held him long enough, hard enough; if he wrapped his fingers around her curls, kept his lips on her skin long enough, then maybe everything would be better again. 

It did. Hours after both had fallen asleep while cuddling, she woke up to his signature grin locked on her sleepy face, a calloused finger brushing an eyelash from her cheek and whispering thank you’s in her hair. It didn’t need to be said. Neither owed each other or had favours. They loved each other unconditionally, down to the atoms of which they were made of. The quiet kiss shared between them, barely a scratch of the passion it usually held but just as priceless, was enough to prove it. 

When he attacked her the next day into a searing kiss while she was propped on the grand piano, writing, she knew his mood had officially waned. Julie laughed at his giddy excitement, trying to keep up with the rush of his lips. Seeing him so happy made her heart lurch with that overwhelming sense of love. His smile could literally light up an entire city and it was hers to cherish. 

“Now _I_ gotta treat my incredible girlfriend, huh?”, he teased between kisses. 

She giggled. “Better get to it then.”

**Author's Note:**

> the latter part of the story, with Mopey Luke™, was inspired by the incredible fanart of @lovelyrugbee_art on instagram - the link: https://www.instagram.com/p/CKZMkm_DNKU/


End file.
